【導讀】DoyousingKaraokeandpretendyouareafamoussingerlikeSongZuyingorLiuHuan?

　　

【正文】 . Festi vals of the Dead Some festi val s are held to honour the dead or satisfy the ancestors, who might return either to hel p or to do harm . For the Japanese festi val Obon, people shoul d go to cl ean graves and li ght incense in memory of thei r ancestors. They also l ight l amps and pl ay music because they thi nk that this wi l l ead the ancestors back to earth. In Mexi co, peopl e celebrate the Day of the Dead i n early Novemver. O n this i mportant feast day, people eat food in the shape of skul ls and cakes wi th “bones” on them. They offer food, fl owers and gifts to the dead. The Western holi day Hal loween al so had its ori gin i n ol d beli efs about the return of the spirits of dead peopl e. It is now a chi ldren’s festival, when they can dress up an go to thei r neighbours’ homes to ask for sweets. If the nei ghbours do not give any sweers, the chil dren might pl ay a tri ck on them. Feti val s to H onour Peopl e Festi val s can al so be held to honour famous peopl e. The Dragon Boat Festival in China honours the famous ancient poet, Qu Yuan. In the USA, Colum bus Day i s in memory of the ari val of Chri stopher Col um bus in the New Worl d. Indi a has a nati onal festi val on October 2 to honour Mohandas Gandhi , the leader who helped gain India’s independece from Britain. Harvest Festivals Harvest and Thanksgi ving festival can be very happy events. People are grateful because their food is gathered for the wi nter and the agricultural work is over. In European countries, peopl e wi l usual y decorate churches and town hal ls wi th fl owers and frui t, and wil l get together to have m eal s. Some people mi ght win awards for thei r farm produce, like the biggest watermelon or the most handsom e rooster. China and Japan have mi dautumn festivals, when peopl e admi re the moon and i n Chi na, enjoy mooncakes. Spri ng Festi val s The m ost energetic and important festi val s are te ones that l ok forward to the end of wi nter and to the i ng of spring. At the Spri ng Festival in China, peopl e eat dumpi ngs ifsh and meat and may gi ve chil dren lucky money in red paper. There are dragon dances and carni vals , and fami li es celebrate the Lunar New Year together. Some Western countries have very exci ting carnicals, whi ch take place forty days before Easter, usual ly in February. These carni val s mi ght incl ude parades, danci ng i n the strets day and night, loud musi c and col ourful clothing of al kinds. Easter is an important rel igi ous and social festi val for Chi ristians around the world. It cel ebrates the return of Jesus from the dead and the i ng of spring and new li fe. Japan’s Chery Blossom Festical happens a li ttl e l ater. The country, covered wi th chery tree fl owers, l ooks as though it i s covered with pink snow. Peopl e l ove to get together to eat, dri nk and have fun wi th each other. Festi val s l et us enjoy l i fe, be proud of our custom s and fet ou work for a l i ttl e whi l e. A Sad Love Story Li Fang was heartbroken. It was Val eti ne’s Day and H u Ji n had sai d she woul d m eet hi m at the coffee shop after work. But she di dn’t turn up. She coul d be wi th her fri ends ri ght now l aughi ng at hi m . She sai d she woul d be there at seven o’ cl ock, and he thought she woul d keep her word. H e had l ooked forward to m eeti ng her al l day, and now he was al on wi th hi s roses and chocol ates, l i ke a fool . Wel l , he ws not goi ng to hol d hi s breath for her to apol ogi ze. H e woul d al l of them were ki led, some were taken to Bri tai n to i mprove the environment of the beautiful park whi ch belonged to the Duke of li ked them so much that he took them al l the way from China to Bri tai Mi lu deer li ked the cool,wet weather in Engl and and their num ber increased year by a resul t, when i n 1985 the government of Chi na wanted to reintroduce the Milu deer, the Duke of Bedford was happy to help. The first deer came back to Chi na to the Nanhaizi Mil u Park 20 ki lometers south of Bei ji ng and the centre i n Dafeng, Jingsu Province. The deer centai nly seem happy to be back in Chi na because thei r numbers have grown rapidl are now so many of them that a new park has been opened for them i n Hebei the moment the Mil u deer l ive i n centres where they are being wel protected and care for . It i s hoped that one day there wi l be enough ani mals to l et them l ive i n the wi ld Britain hel ped Chi na by bringi ng back an anim al that had disappeared from its hom el s is a good exampl e of friendship and understanding between these two countries. Unit 5 The band that wasn’t H ave you ever wanted to be part of a band as a famous si nger or musici ans? H ave you ever dream ed of pl ayi ng i n front of thousands of people at a concert, at whi ch everyone is cl appi ng and appreciating your m usi c? Do you si ng Karaoke and pretend you are a famous si nger l ike Song Zuying or Liu Huan? To be honest, a l ot of people attach great im portance to being rich and famous. But just now do peopl e form a band? Many m usi cians meet and form a band because they l ike to write and pl ay their own may start as a group of hi ghschool students, for whom practising thei r music in som eone’s house is the fi rst step to fame. Sometimes they may pl ay to passersby i n the street or subway so that they can earn som e extra money for themselves or to pay for their i nstruments. Later they m ay give performances in pubs or clubs, for which they are pai d i n cash. Of course they hope to make records i n a studio and sel mi l ions of copies to be e mi l ionaires! However, there was one band that started i n a di fferent way. It was cal led the Monkees and began as a TV show. The musicians were to play jokes on each other as wel l as play music, most of whi ch was based loosely on the Beatl es. The TV anizer had planned to fi nd four musici ans who could act as wel as